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Sunday, April 20, 2014

the United Nations and the Inadequate Use of Free and Prior Informed Consent.

The
High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations to be
held on 22 and 23 September 2014, makes manifest a set of situations of crucial
character for the World's Indigenous Peoples that deserves its due attention
and reaction:

1.
Many efforts have been deployed, including international lobbying,
coordination, time and hopes so that it be established as a norm of
international law, the right to grant or Not Grant the Consent of Indigenous
Peoples "in all matters affecting them". The Consent of Indigenous Peoples possesses
the character of a qualified intrinsic relationship with other rights such as
Free, Prior, and Informed Consent. However, this right which constitutes the
fundamental tool of last resort available to Indigenous Peoples in any
situation, has been canceled by the Indigenous themselves upon acceptance of
the condition of absolute disadvantage in order to participate in the High
Level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly UN 2014.

2. The nomination of Mirna Cunningham and Les
Malezer as Advisers to Mr. John Ashe President of the UN General Assembly makes
evident that "some Indigenous", among them Mirna Cunningham and Les
Malezer are willing to offer consent to the reduction of the right of
self-determination, which participation makes definite, in spite of the
negative cost to Indigenous Peoples in general.

3.
Based upon the nomination of Mirna Cunningham and Les Malezer, common sense
indicates that it is of no utility or effectiveness that Indigenous Peoples are
entitled to the right of self-determination and possess the right of Free, Prior,
and Informed Consent, if in practice they are willing to give up all of these
basic rights.

4. The Right of Free, Prior, and Informed
Consent has as objective the defense and protection of other rights, which
definitely these are the mechanisms and tools to establish acceptable
conditions with any external body. The proper
utilization of the Right of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent on the part of
Indigenous Peoples accrues with experience, but the upon granting of consent
without condition the results are predictable and set a precedent in favor of
the government states.

5. I must emphasize that what has occurred in
terms of the limited, scarce, and poor indigenous participation in the High
Level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations, is not a
problem for the States, as governments they are doing what state governments
do, but what forcibly brings attention is the conduct and behavior of the Indigenous
themselves, who have not had the ability to acceptably use the tools which public
international law itself has made available, such as the right of Free, Prior,
and Informed Consent.

6. Every indigenous individual has a share of
responsibility for events in the international arena and I have mine. I worked
hard and tirelessly to install the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues of the
United Nations, but I never thought that this subsidiary body of ECOSOC would
absorb so quickly the international indigenous movement and render the
organizations of Indigenous
Peoples without a self determined agenda. It is observed that there are many
coordinating bodies of indigenous organizations with international coverage whose existence
and activity are based solely on the agenda of the Permanent Forum and other
activities of the United Nations system and so now in this manner is discarded a priori the setting of an international
agenda of Indigenous Peoples for themselves.

7. Mirna Cunningham has been criticized by
Indigenous organizations themselves in consequence to her permanent political
commitments to the government of Nicaragua. In this regard, I would appeal to Mirna
Cunningham that there is still time to desist from such nomination, considering
that the states of the world have many tools and political maneuvers to
maintain a relationship of oppression over Indigenous Peoples and it would not
be seen well seen nor be considered acceptable that a person of Indigenous
origin become a political ploy for the government states in order to give
appearance of indigenous participation in the High Level Plenary Meeting of the
General Assembly of the United Nations. Similarly, all Indigenous Peoples who are
interested in this matter have time yet to convey a clear message to the
President of the General Assembly and government states, both before and during
the High-level Plenary Meeting and clearly there should be consideration for
canceling the event.

8. All of the messages and very legitimate
communications from indigenous organizations addressed to John Ashe, President
of the General Assembly that have been transmitted have not had a positive and
concrete effect, to the contrary the president's decision has remained
unchanged for this reason I have chosen to address my indigenous relatives,
Mirna Cunningham and Les Malezer with the objective to analyze the consequences
and the precedent established in the wake of such a reduced and limited
indigenous participation in the High Level Plenary Meeting.

9. I consider that the Indigenous Caucus prior to
the next session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York 2014, provides
an opportunity to discuss and jointly establish a firm and decisive position
and that the right of CONSENT be properly used in favor of Indigenous Peoples
and their rights.

the United Nations and the Inadequate Use of Free and Prior Informed Consent.

The
High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations to be
held on 22 and 23 September 2014, makes manifest a set of situations of crucial
character for the World's Indigenous Peoples that deserves its due attention
and reaction:

1.
Many efforts have been deployed, including international lobbying,
coordination, time and hopes so that it be established as a norm of
international law, the right to grant or Not Grant the Consent of Indigenous
Peoples "in all matters affecting them". The Consent of Indigenous Peoples possesses
the character of a qualified intrinsic relationship with other rights such as
Free, Prior, and Informed Consent. However, this right which constitutes the
fundamental tool of last resort available to Indigenous Peoples in any
situation, has been canceled by the Indigenous themselves upon acceptance of
the condition of absolute disadvantage in order to participate in the High
Level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly UN 2014.

2. The nomination of Mirna Cunningham and Les
Malezer as Advisers to Mr. John Ashe President of the UN General Assembly makes
evident that "some Indigenous", among them Mirna Cunningham and Les
Malezer are willing to offer consent to the reduction of the right of
self-determination, which participation makes definite, in spite of the
negative cost to Indigenous Peoples in general.

3.
Based upon the nomination of Mirna Cunningham and Les Malezer, common sense
indicates that it is of no utility or effectiveness that Indigenous Peoples are
entitled to the right of self-determination and possess the right of Free, Prior,
and Informed Consent, if in practice they are willing to give up all of these
basic rights.

4. The Right of Free, Prior, and Informed
Consent has as objective the defense and protection of other rights, which
definitely these are the mechanisms and tools to establish acceptable
conditions with any external body. The proper
utilization of the Right of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent on the part of
Indigenous Peoples accrues with experience, but the upon granting of consent
without condition the results are predictable and set a precedent in favor of
the government states.

5. I must emphasize that what has occurred in
terms of the limited, scarce, and poor indigenous participation in the High
Level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations, is not a
problem for the States, as governments they are doing what state governments
do, but what forcibly brings attention is the conduct and behavior of the Indigenous
themselves, who have not had the ability to acceptably use the tools which public
international law itself has made available, such as the right of Free, Prior,
and Informed Consent.

6. Every indigenous individual has a share of
responsibility for events in the international arena and I have mine. I worked
hard and tirelessly to install the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues of the
United Nations, but I never thought that this subsidiary body of ECOSOC would
absorb so quickly the international indigenous movement and render the
organizations of Indigenous
Peoples without a self determined agenda. It is observed that there are many
coordinating bodies of indigenous organizations with international coverage whose existence
and activity are based solely on the agenda of the Permanent Forum and other
activities of the United Nations system and so now in this manner is discarded a priori the setting of an international
agenda of Indigenous Peoples for themselves.

7. Mirna Cunningham has been criticized by
Indigenous organizations themselves in consequence to her permanent political
commitments to the government of Nicaragua. In this regard, I would appeal to Mirna
Cunningham that there is still time to desist from such nomination, considering
that the states of the world have many tools and political maneuvers to
maintain a relationship of oppression over Indigenous Peoples and it would not
be seen well seen nor be considered acceptable that a person of Indigenous
origin become a political ploy for the government states in order to give
appearance of indigenous participation in the High Level Plenary Meeting of the
General Assembly of the United Nations. Similarly, all Indigenous Peoples who are
interested in this matter have time yet to convey a clear message to the
President of the General Assembly and government states, both before and during
the High-level Plenary Meeting and clearly there should be consideration for
canceling the event.

8. All of the messages and very legitimate
communications from indigenous organizations addressed to John Ashe, President
of the General Assembly that have been transmitted have not had a positive and
concrete effect, to the contrary the president's decision has remained
unchanged for this reason I have chosen to address my indigenous relatives,
Mirna Cunningham and Les Malezer with the objective to analyze the consequences
and the precedent established in the wake of such a reduced and limited
indigenous participation in the High Level Plenary Meeting.

9. I consider that the Indigenous Caucus prior to
the next session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York 2014, provides
an opportunity to discuss and jointly establish a firm and decisive position
and that the right of CONSENT be properly used in favor of Indigenous Peoples
and their rights.